


On a Silver Platter

by Ane_Rhapsodos



Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2017-11-05 23:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ane_Rhapsodos/pseuds/Ane_Rhapsodos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't something she liked to remember, but Shelinda had never been able to blot it from her mind. Some things just can't be forgotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On a Silver Platter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [storyless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyless/gifts).



When Shelinda had heard of Wen Kinoc, Commander of the Warrior Monks as well as the Crusaders, she had expected a tall man. A great warrior, visibly strong, perhaps a visible scar or two, whose very presence evoked respect from all who saw him. He would carry a large weapon, perhaps a sword too heavy for any but a warrior of his caliber to lift; or a mighty spear, with a tip that gleamed like the sun and could cut through stone as easily as water.

He fell far short of her expectations, quite literally.

Short, heavily balding, and … well, fat. Not imposing in the least, especially in his Maester robes, which only made him look more overweight than he likely was. He vaguely resembled a Moogle in her opinion, well, if a Moogle wore clothes, had no hair, and lost its pom-pom.

How on Spira had this man obtained such a position of power? It was _baffling._

Perhaps it was his geniality to powerful people. He always seemed to have time for Maester Mika, and he spent many of his evenings drinking with the Monk Captains. He certainly wasn’t that nice to the novitiates! He barely even acknowledged their existence, let alone went out of his way to treat them with kindness.

It was a much loathed job to be assigned to cater his meals, for not only were they large, but he was _picky_. And, of course it was never the cooks fault, it was the fault of the initiate who brought him the incorrectly prepared food. Perhaps it was undercooked, perhaps it was too cold, or worse yet, perhaps it wasn’t what he had _specifically_ requested from the kitchens.

She’d been lucky enough to only get the assignment once. But that once had been more than enough. The food had been easy enough, perfectly prepared, and quite difficult to unsettle during the brief trip from the kitchens to his personal rooms.

When she arrived at his receiving room, she found it empty, but, her more senior peers had been full of advice, both useless and odd. Across the room was a long table, which would often be covered in several trays when the Maester was having guests. It was only a single tray, however, which meant she should leave it at his desk...

The teen did not see any form of desk in this room.

There were two doors leading further into the Maester’s chambers, one, she knew, lead to the room within which he slept - which was quite off-limits to her or any other female of the clergy - while the other lead to a personal library. If the desk wasn’t here.... _surely_ it was within the library?

 _But..._ she hesitated, eyes darting from one door to the other. They were identical, and evenly spaced on a single wall. _Which one was the library?_

 _Perhaps the left one?_ Shelinda took a step towards it, then paused, biting her lip. _No, no, it had to be the right one._ Only a half-a-step this time before she froze. If she entered the wrong room, she could get into such _trouble_ , she’d never heard what would happen should she break that rule, but surely it was something terrible? Would they expel her from the clergy?

Her lip was starting to hurt with how much pressure she was using, and she promptly released it, pressing her teeth together firmly before she could bite again and draw blood. It was such a bad habit... _expulsion wasn’t so bad....even if I have only been here for a few months..._ If not expulsion than what? Would they send her to some obscure temple that few ever visited? Somewhere far from her last living relatives?

Taking a slow breath to calm herself, the red-haired girl took another two steps towards the right-hand door. If not down the middle, it was always more likely to be the right.....right? She froze again, but what if it was right only for the bedroom? The left was closer to the outer wall, surely it would have better lighting, and thus be a better place for reading and paperwork? This time she was nearly within arms reach before she heard a noise.

It was a shuffling sound, like shifting cloth. That meant it was the library didn’t it? Surely the Maester wasn’t sleeping at such an hour? Lifting one hand in preparation to knock, she immediately froze and grimaced. _Do not make noise._ One of the girls had said, _Not even knocking! He doesn’t like being interrupted if he’s in the middle of something._

It seemed so _rude_ , but... if that was what she was supposed to do...

The knob was silent as she turned it, the door swinging open a few inches without any further noise. It wouldn’t do for a Maester to have squeaky doors. She quickly returned her hand to the heavy tray, worried she would drop it if she took even a moment longer. Nudging the door further with her foot, she stepped forward and glanced into the room...

_Oh dear..._

This was _not_ the library. It had a very nice window, though, tall and wide with lovely embroidered curtains. The rugs were pretty, too, likely quite expensive. She heard a sound again, her eyes shooting up involuntarily to lay upon the source, hoping it was simply the _wind_ , if the Maester saw her in here.....!

 _Oh_ , yes, the Maester was there. He was rather busy though. Eyes wide and fingers tight around the tray, she couldn’t help but notice that it was certainly _not_ his wife in that bed. Very much not.

She might’ve squeaked, she couldn’t be sure, and quite some time later - once she had gotten her raging blush down to something more akin to her natural skin tone - she realized she didn’t even know where she had left the tray... She hadn’t dropped it, she knew, but she didn’t actually remember setting it down anywhere.

However.... that was one mystery she had no intentions of investigating any time soon. The teen had found out _far, far, **far**_ more about the Maester than she had ever had the....desire or dimmest _inclination_ to know.

There were just some things a simple girl like her _did **not** need to know._

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't actually realize Shelinda was picturing Kinoc rather loosely as Auron until she was finished. Completely accidental! But quite amusing.


End file.
